For those pet sitting jobs where I can’t drive my own car and may want to go to the grocery store, etc. do others rent a car? I don’t believe many pet sitting jobs offer to use a car so just trying to get feedback on what others are doing?
Thanks!
We never rent a car. Probably had the offer (& taken it up) of a car from the HO on about 8 sits in Italy, Switzerland, Portugal and Thailand. Otherwise buses, trains, hitching, pedal bikes & our legs are our friends on the other 25 or so. (Lethal on a scooter so that’s also not for us 
) We’ve never had groceries delivered either as at least half of the locations didn’t have that option. Somehow it’s always worked out fine 
#allpartoftheadventure
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In the decade I have been sitting, I have only rented a car for one sit. It was early 2021 and there wasn’t much in the way of house sits due to Covid. But there was a listing for a 3 month one in Panama–we were in the US-- that looked really good, and when we saw we could rent a car for less than 500 USD a month, we thought that was pretty reasonable–I often equate our travel expenses to rent, and divided monthly, we are usually paying a pittance compared to actual rent where we are from in the US. We really wanted to take a trip abroad after being in the US for an extended period.
But for the most part, I personally don’t find the expense of renting a car worth it for a number of reasons. Being full-time sitters, we usually do longer sits and it would be very costly. While if we had use of a car we would probably take advantage of some sight seeing further afield, we don’t care about doing that enough to take on the expense of renting a car for a sit where one isn’t provided.
For us, we would probably mainly use it for food shopping once a week, and that definitely doesn’t justify the cost. With so many sits to choose from, it is easy to find ones that don’t require renting a vehicle.
It really depends on how you view that cost. For some people, if they view their sits like vacations, then they may be happy to rent a car, thinking they are getting a great deal compared to having to pay for both that and accommodation. For people who have more money, the cost of renting a car would not feel like any burden and they are happy to do it for a place they really want to go.
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Most of the time, I sit where it’s walkable and/or I use ride share apps in the U.S. In the U.K., I take the Tube, trains, black cabs or ride share services.
I do sometimes rent a car in the U.S., depending on what I want to do. Like I enjoyed taking my sit dog all over as we explored Seattle while I wasn’t telecommuting. We walked all over the waterfront and Pike Place Market and explored various parks and neighborhoods. Her neighborhood was highly walkable as well.
I usually order grocery delivery for convenience, even when I have a car.
When I don’t have a car and fly in (or take a train in the U.K.), my hosts often offer to pick me up. My upcoming U.S. sit will involve a long shuttle ride from the airport, which my hosts volunteered to pay for. They also offered to meet me at a hotel drop-off point and take me to dinner nearby before we head to their home and I meet their dog. They volunteered to let me use their car and golf cart as well, which they offered after I’d applied. Those weren’t mentioned in their listing, so maybe they wanted to get a sense of their prospective sitter first.
I’ve also been offered cars before on sits in the U.S. and U.K.
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Thank you for your response!
I’ve both hired a car and used HO car, when offered. When hiring I shop around for a good hire deal, often using FB sites for travellers in the area and compare with companies like Hertz. I’ve found some really good smaller local companies which I’ve now used multiple times (I often sit in the same places that I know I like).
It really depends on the location. For eg I’ve done several long sits in Phuket, where there were small shops and restaurants nearby but it was too dangerous (narrow roads and fast traffic) to walk or cycle to the beach, which was just a 3 minute drive. If I hadn’t had a car I’d have missed out on beautiful daily beach walks.
I just factor on how much value I’m going to get out of the hire. I don’t mind paying if it enhances my experience in a place.
@aball322 I remember years ago, pets weren’t allowed in some hire car companies vehicles, so always check that first
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In the U.S., many car rental companies allow dogs, but of course check if you think needed.
Thank you!
Most do now i believe, but they do say to inform them in advance, probably to make the renter aware of any potential extra cleaning charges on return
I typically look for sits where I can walk to the grocery store/restaurants. I have rented a car once and been on one sit where I was able to drive their car. I typically take uber/lyft if needed and really appreciate if folks have a bike I can use. I have seen some sits where they also have a golf cart available.
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We have rented a car 3 times, and used the homeowners car twice. We finding very useful when booking consecutive sits in the UK, as we can carry more groceries between sits. We also like to get out and sightsee every day. We use a discount online aggregator, and get great deals, usually under 100 pounds for a week, so its worth it.
For a sit in a city,it’s not worth the hassle.
I’ve rented a car once, for my first pet sit 7 years ago. I was willing to rationalize the cost because it was my first sit and it was a country I wanted to visit.
Before I accept a sit, I will check the area of the sit to see If it’s walkable to shopping, if there’s good public transport nearby, is food delivery easy. I usually use public transport or Uber to get to and from my sits.
I’ve been offered a car a few times which has not been in the listing. The owner felt more comfortable knowing if an emergency happened, I’d be able to get their pet to the vet quickly. I always provide my license and they add me to their policy. It’s helpful to work out the details around permission to use, steps to take if anything should happen, etc. I always follow the rules of the owner, make sure the vehicle is returned clean, and with a full tank of gas.
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I had a few sits with cat and a few without .
For us it’s always : the location has to be accessible and explorable (is that actually a word 
) with public transport or we need a car . Otherwise it’s just not our sit .
For example: we’re in London right now and definitely do not need a car . Last month we were in a small village on an island and not having a car wouldn’t be possible.
I think the HOs should know if that’s possible.
I used to work at rent-a-cars in college, among various jobs. No one actually cares unless you return the car filthy, or soiled with waste or smelling so badly that they couldn’t rent to the next person without intensive cleaning.
Use your judgment about whether the pets will leave excessive hair you can’t clean up or whether they’d take a poo or pee in the car. Or if they’d chew parts of it or scratch it up.
Personally, I don’t take sit pets on rides till I’ve had enough time to observe them and gauge how they’d do. Like if dogs were incontinent or prone to diarrhea or throwing up, I wouldn’t take them. And I discuss with hosts whether their dog is OK in cars before taking them or not. My hosts always know, because I share photos of the pets I take on rides, shown in the car and on adventures.
I’ve taken my own dog and sit pets on shared ride services; in cabs; on hop on, hop off buses; on ferries and tour boats; on tour trolleys; and on Ferris wheels without problems. They leave little or no trace that they’ve been there — unlike many young children.
Note: Some pets get car or motion sick and shouldn’t be subjected to rides. Their owners should know.
With our own dog, we started with short trips and worked our way up to road trips of a couple hours or so. Then longer ones. Since then, our dog has happily traveled cross country many times.
Not sure if that in depth reply was incorrectly directed at me, as i have no intention of hiring a car. I’m sure its all great advice to the OP though
I was replying to this:
But I posted the comment mostly because it might be useful to other sitters. Even when I don’t rent a car, I often take (sit) pets on adventures involving vehicles that aren’t mine.
Still better to tag the OP, as more beneficial to them.
OPs get pinged automatically on threads they started.
Fantastic 